HeadCount: 1: Gone Fishin' November 2018 Newsletter

Wednesday 5 December 2018

Gone Fishin' November 2018 Newsletter

Hi Everyone

Here's Novembers' Gone Fishin' Newsletter.

Enjoy!

Gone Fishin’ Monthly Newsletter – November 2018

'…but Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life…”' (John 6:68).

Hi Everyone

We are out on the Naenae streets again this Saturday. I’m really getting a kick out of our monthly forays into the real world!

Pastor Jarryd, sharing the Gospel with passers-by at Hilary Court

You know, as Christians, we can rest on the assurance that we are saved eternally.
But that doesn’t mean we can curl up in a corner all wrapped in the comfortability of our salvation.

We have a job to do. We have Christ’s words of eternal life at the tip of our tongues, and if we don’t speak them, nobody will hear them.

And there is nowhere else they can turn to for eternal life.
We don’t speak our words, of course. The Apostle Peter said to Christ “You have the words of eternal life”.

Sharing the words of eternal life means forgetting our own lack of ability. Forgetting our fears.

Peck Choo has a heart for the people who live in the emergency housing at the Court

I am a prime example of this. I am one of the most introverted, inarticulate person you could meet. I would never say boo to a goose. In fact, I got out of my way not to be noticed, or stand out.

But I force myself to do evangelism. I get very nervous - it doesn’t come naturally to me. But the dread of seeing people that will not inherit eternal life motivates me to do it.

And that is why I love our Gone Fishin’ endeavours. It forces me to practice evangelism.

Greg hears the words of eternal life

Last month at the shops I bumped into a stocky man, probably in his thirties. He was sitting in the sun on the bench seats in the middle of the court.
I sat beside him and asked him how he was. He said he was good, but looked at me suspiciously. I offered him a million-dollar gospel tract, saying “You look like you need one of these. It’s a million dollars”.

He took it, and stared at it for a long time without talking. I said “On the back is the million-dollar question, ‘what happens after we die?’. What do you think happens? Do you think there’s a heaven?”.
“I don’t know about any of that. All I’m worried about is where my next meal will come from. Do you have any money?”.
“I don’t carry cash with me when I come to the court. But if you really need to eat, then we could go get something while we chat”.

He jumped up. I introduced myself, and he said his name was Greg. Together we walked to one of the cafes. On the way, he told me that he had been to a few churches lately. He ordered a couple of things and a drink, and we sat down.

“So, do you think there’s a heaven, Greg?”
“Yeah, probably, but not sure”.
“If there was, do you think you’d make it?”
“Maybe. Dunno”
“Let’s take a test, OK? All I ask is that you are honest”
“Ok”

I took Greg through 4 of the 10 Commandments – lying, stealing, blasphemy, and adultery. He admitted to committing all of them.

“So, here’s a summary, Greg - and this isn’t me judging you - but by your own admission, you’re a lying thief, and a blaspheming adulterer at heart. And that’s just four of the ten commandments. And when you die, you have to give an account to God on Judgement Day. Do you think God would find you innocent or guilty of breaking His commandments?”
“Guilty”
“Does that concern you?”
“Yeah, a bit”
“It concerns me too, to know that God would send you to hell. That should horrify you. But Greg, God did something so that you don’t have to go to hell. Do you know what that was?”
“He sent His Son to die for us”
“That’s right, but do you know what legal transaction took place?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you did the crime, but Jesus paid the fine for you. If a judge finds you guilty of a crime, and the fine is $1M - which you can’t pay - and someone steps in and pays the fine for you, then the judge can let you go. You are still guilty, but the fine has been paid. Well, that’s exactly what Jesus did. 2000 years ago, He gave up His life for you. All of the wrath that should have been spared for you, Jesus took on your behalf. He was killed in your place. God then rose Him from the grave 3 days later to prove He can defeat death.”
“That makes sense”
“It sure does. There are 2 things you need to do to receive eternal life. Do you know what they are?”
“Ask for forgiveness”
“Nope, try that in a courtroom, it won’t work.”
“Try to stop doing bad things”
“That won’t work either, because you’ve already committed the crime. You’re already guilty. Greg, you need to repent. That’s a word that means turning your back on your sin. Then you need to place your faith in Christ for His sacrifice on your behalf. It’s a bit like a parachute. If the plane is going down, and you have a parachute, you need to put the parachute on before you jump, not after. You place your faith in the parachute that it will save your life. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah it does when you put it that way”
“So Greg, you know you need to repent, and place your faith in Christ. When are you going to do that?”
“As soon as I can”

Greg and I after our talk

I prayed with Greg. I prayed that the words I spoke would resonate inside him. I prayed that he would be convicted of his sin enough to repent and place his faith in Christ.
After praying, I gave Greg some more material, and he said he might come to church the next day. He hasn’t turned up yet, but that hasn’t stopped me praying for him.

Did Greg just say all the right things because he wanted to fleece me for a free lunch? Maybe. But I don’t really care. Greg got to hear the words of eternal life.

…and that is worth paying $10 for.

I’ll see you at my place this Saturday at 10am for prayer, before venturing out to the streets again!

Blessings

Craig.

Witnessing Tip: Don’t be discouraged!